


Second Worst Thing

by ValiantBarnes (Cimila)



Category: Pacific Rim (2013), Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Kylo Ren is an idiot, M/M, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Multi, Reconciliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-04
Updated: 2016-02-04
Packaged: 2018-05-18 04:13:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5897770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cimila/pseuds/ValiantBarnes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Hosnian shatterdome contains the last five Jaegers, and ten Rangers who pilot them. In the countdown to the potential end of the world, it might just be time to bury the hatchet. </p><p>Or at least, that's what Phasma keeps telling Hux.</p><p>Similarly, Rey Skywalker thinks it's about time that her cousin get over himself and be a part of the family again. Kylo Ren disagrees <s>half heartedly</s>. <s>Whole heartedly</s>. He disagrees.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Second Worst Thing

**Author's Note:**

> From the kinkmeme:
> 
> _I just want a Pacific Rim AU please, all the characters paired up fighting in Jaegers fighting big ass Kaiju pleasseeee_
> 
> Prompt here: http://tfa-kink.dreamwidth.org/1082.html?thread=908602#cmt908602
> 
> I only followed a few of the suggestions in the prompt, but I hope OP enjoys anyway!

“You’re staring again.” Kylo jerked at the sound of his cousin's voice, scowling at her smirk.

“I’m not staring. You’re staring.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he wanted to shove them back in, while Rey looked absolutely delighted. Being around her tends to make him act like the sullen teenager he once was, instead of the man he is. Annoyed, Kylo looks away from her and back at Hux. Who he’s not staring at. He’s just… fuck, he is staring. 

“You know they’re probably fucking, right?” She says, shoving him across the bench until she had enough room to sit. Hux’s eyes flick over to their table for a second, and Kylo turns his eyes away in embarrassment.

“First, why would I even care. Second, go away.” Besides, he knows that Phasma and Hux aren’t fucking. Rey, new as she is, doesn’t know the ins and outs of all the Rangers like Kylo does. She’ll learn. Or maybe not, given the looming threat.

“You care because you want to fuck Hux. And no. We’re co-pilots now, there’s no way you can run from me this time.” Kylo groans at the reminder. His plan, after he’d left home without looking back, had been to never see any of his family again. Now, at the end of the world, all his plans are coming undone. It’s the worst thing about the end of the world. Well, second worst, behind the obvious.

“I’m sure there’s someone else I could pilot with.” There’s not. Only a handful of jaegers were still active, and they needed every one. _Darth Vader_ was needed, so Kylo was needed. He also needed a co-pilot, because Snoke was a useless ass who’d fucked off and O.D’d about three minutes after they’d been officially relieved of duty - so about five minutes before the call came in from Marshall Calrissian about heading over to the Hosnian shatterdome for a last stand. Kylo would be more cut up about his co-pilots demise if their relationship hadn’t been one of mutual disdain bordering on hatred.

And Calrissian, that bastard, had assured him that several people were willing to step into the kwoon with him and see if they had what it took to drift with him. The Marshall of the Hosnian base hadn’t given him a list of names, just shown him to the kwoon where a few people were waiting. Kylo had assumed that it was because they were short of time, which they were, and Kylo was too busy being grateful that he hadn’t yet run into his mother to question it.

Now he knows that he wasn’t given a list because then he would have seen the name _Rey Skywalker_ and categorically refused to spar with her. If he hadn’t last seen her when she was seven, he might have recognised her. But he didn’t, and by the time he found out who she was, everyone already knew that they were highly drift compatible. A higher score than he and Snoke, even. 

Were the stakes anything less than the annihilation of the human race, he might have refused to partner with her regardless of their compatibility.

And she was a natural. Their first proper drift was, unfortunately, not in the controlled environment of the lab, but the high pressure situation that was assisting _BB-8_ with a kaiju. Had any other jaeger been available, they wouldn’t have been sent. But _Star Killer_ , _Millennium Falcon_ and _R2-D2_ were still en-route from their home bases, so Rey’d been shoved into the deep end. And she’d thrived.

Drifting has never felt so easy, so natural. He’d gotten so caught up the thrill of it that, once they’d returned safe and alive, he’d pulled her into a bone crushing hug.

It proved to be a mistake. Rey’s become determined to drag him back to the family, kicking and screaming if necessary.

Kylo’s trying his hardest to resist, because he’d left for a reason (even if the reason had seemed more important at seventeen than it does now, twelve years later) and he doesn’t want to go back. Unfortunately, there are entirely too many members of his family roaming around the Hosnian base. He’d much prefer it if they all dispersed back to Alderaan and Corellia and whatever city Rey was living in, far, far away from the Hosnian base, and even further away from Coruscant, when Kylo’s based.

Luckily, though, his parents and uncle seem much more unsure about approaching him. They, at least, understand that intentionally cutting his family out of his life for over a decade wasn’t something you could just ignore and move forward from. Not that he wants to talk about it, because he doesn’t want that either. He just wants them all to leave him alone.

You’d think Rey would understand that, given she’s been inside his head. She just scoffs, and says things which are patently untrue about what he does and doesn’t want from his family.

Uncle Chewie, also, doesn’t seem to get the message, but thankfully no one but Rey was around to see when the large, hairy man engulfed him in a hug. Kylo was lifted off his feet and swung around, while Chewie enthused about how tall and handsome he’d gotten. Kylo hadn’t had the heart to push the older man away, and had silently endured the affection. If he’d hugged back a little bit, well, it would have been rude not to.

But the point, long since digressed from, is that there is no one else he could possibly drift with, so he’s stuck with his annoying little cousin.

“Can I have your pudding?” She asks, wide eyed like Kylo doesn’t know exactly how devious she is, and he pushes his pudding to the far end of his lunch tray. He didn’t really expect it to deter her, but he also didn’t expect her to climb in his lap to reach it. She knees him in the stomach twice too many times for it to be accidental, and ends up perched on one of his knees. She grins up at him like they’re still children, proudly opening up her won pudding, leaning against his side, and Kylo relents, putting an arm around her shoulder, giving her a half hug.

There’s only Hux and Phasma to see it, given the otherwise deserted break room, and he knows they’ll never say anything. They’d have to care to do that, after all, and Kylo’s all too aware that they don’t. Not anymore.

 

 

“Put the boy out of his misery, Hux.” Phasma tilts her head at Ren, the slightly younger man once again looking in their direction, though this time he’s accompanied by the novice. Skywalker, daughter of the legend Luke Skywalker, niece of the Alderaani Marshall and legend Leia Organa. They’d piloted _R2-D2_ during the initial stages of the Jaeger program, along with the _Millennium Falcon_ , piloted by her husband Han Solo and Chewbacca. With such a high profile family behind her, it was no wonder she was bumped up to pilot almost straight away. Hux would be annoyed at the blatant nepotism if she wasn’t so talented.

And despite all her natural talent and family connections, she’d been stuck with Kylo Ren, monumental fuck up. 

Hux might be letting his emotions influence his perspective there, a little bit. Ren was a great jaeger pilot, absolutely ruthless, and _Vader_ had a stunning kill count. It’s just that, as a person, Ren was fucking useless.

They’d had a fling for a while, whenever they happened to be in the same shatterdome, sometimes indulging in commlink sex, playing with holo-imagers, but Hux had ended it. He’d thought they’d both been on the same page about it, given what happened between them, but judging by the looks he’d been getting since he and Phasma arrived at the Hosnian shatterdome, he was mistaken.

“You’d have to put him down to put him out of his misery, Phasma.” He grumbled, not bothering to look in Rens direction again.

“Don’t you think you’re taking it a bit too far?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You know you can’t lie to me.” Hux resolutely ignores her, instead turning his attention to his lunch tray.

“It’s the end of the world, Hux. Don’t you think you should let it go?”

“No. And there’s nothing to let go.”

“So you’re not still bitter he said another mans name when you were fucking him?” Hux can’t help the way his hand clenches around the fork. Phasma has a faint twist to her mouth that shows she’s still just as upset about it as Hux. She’d seen what had happened in the drift, of course, and he’d told her about it. She’d given Ren a black eye.

“Why would I be.” He grits out.

“Because you’re still in love with him?” She says it lazily, like she’s unaware that the mere thought of it, all of it, drives shards of hate and anger and pain straight through his heart.

“Don’t be foolish, Phasma. We were nothing serious.”

“We both know that’s not true. And I know you’re still hurt, but perhaps it’s time to let it go.” That’s a ridiculous suggestion, coming from Phasma.

“Like you’ve ever let go of a grudge in your life.” She laughs, conceding the point.

“True. But it’s the end of the world, potentially. You don’t have to forgive him, just make up enough that you’re not spending your last hours wallowing in heartbreak when you could be having sex.” Hux thinks about it, for a moment. Remembers what it was like to have Ren. How it felt to press against him, to kiss and touch him, smile with him. He’s got a gorgeous smile, though Ren seems to prefer a mask of angry stoicism.

Green eyes wander over to where Ren’s sitting, hope inflating Hux’s chest for the briefest moment. Then Hux sees him, and any warmth he might have been feeling turns to ice in his chest. Ren’s not looking at him anymore, of course not. Instead, Skywalker is in his lap, and he’s curled around her.

“Heartbreak would imply that I ever wanted more from Ren than a good fuck.” Hux says, tone as cold as his heart. He pushes his tray away, suddenly uninterested in food, and stands.

“See you in the kwoon.” He stalks out, leaving Phasma to finish her lunch, not once looking over at Ren and Skywalker. They can do whatever the hell they bloody well like, Hux could not care less.

 

 

There’s a double event, and if their last stand wasn’t staffed mainly by older models, there was a large chance they all would have died. As it was, the EMP that the first kaiju let out only offlined _Star Killer_ and _BB-8_ , the newest of the jaegers. _Millennium Falcon_ and _R2-D2_ were both far too old for their systems to so much as flicker at the high tec pulse. _Vader_ had had enough upgrades over the years that Rey and Ben lost some functionality, but the base model was just as old as the jaegers their parents piloted, and they were online enough to tear apart the jaeger that tried to rip out _Star Killers_ conn-pod.

The easiest way to drift, to pilot, it’s usually said, is to find a calm connection with your co-pilot and live there. Exist in that nexus, become one, and move. Leave all strong emotions behind, and simply be. It’s what Rey and Ben did the first time they piloted _Vader_ , what they had been doing up until command told them that _Star Killer_ was dead in the water, and a second kaiju was closing in fast. In that moment, Rey felt rage like she’s never felt before in her life, thrumming through the drift. There’s more to it than the anger, memory flashes that she doesn’t chase but wants to, and she’ll be able to work through them all later, understand what it means, but for now she just has to find a way to hold on.

And then, half a second after the flood, their connection stabilises. Not because Ben pulled back, restrained the all encompassing rage, but because Rey accepted it. She joined him there, in the red wash of his emotions, and found their new nexus point.

Drifting has never been easier, piloting has never been easier, and even with reduced systems, they’re able to spear the kaiju with _Vaders_ saber as it leaps out of the water, towards _Star Killer_. With Bens guidance, they pull it apart piece by piece, until there won’t even be enough pieces for the black market to harvest and sell. 

After, when they’re all safely back on base, Rey sorts through the new pieces of Ben floating through her mind. Though they’d appeared on a tide of red, there was nothing harsh or angry about the memories. Instead, they were warm, loving. Happy.

Memories of her cousin and Hux. Together.

In love.

She almost can’t comprehend it. The Hux she knows can barely stand to look at Ben, sneers at him if he can’t ignore the younger man entirely. She doesn’t know what went wrong between them, but she’s determined to find out.

There’s a huge chance that they’re all going to die in a blaze of glory, and she’s not going to let her cousin die heartbroken.

 

 

Something Kylo could have gone his entire life without knowing was that his friends Finn and Poe Dameron were fucking his cousin. And it’s not as though he found out in the drift, where he had to acknowledge and accept and let go in order to pilot _Vader_. No, he had to walk in on them, all three naked and sweaty and writhing.

“I think I’m going to be sick.” He mutters, faintly, and the three of them nearly fall off the bed at the shock of his sudden appearance.

“ _ **GET OUT!**_ ” Rey shrieks, and Kylo obeys, ducking out of their _shared room_ , a place which should have been sacred. Which has now been defiled by his cousin and his friends. Not exactly traumatic, given the open nature of the drift, and Kylo’s definitely seen worse in his time, but that’s his cousin. He used to give her piggyback rides, and cuddle. (Still does both of those things, sometimes, when she asks, as long as no one’s around to see it - she’s annoyingly hard to ignore and say no to). And now he’s seen her having sex.

He’s walking down the corridor, in a bit of a horrified daze, when he stumbles upon Uncle Chewie, and he gets a brilliant, wonderful idea. As he’s made note of before, Rey brings out the teenager in him. So he says, words slipping out as though accidentally, as though he’s traumatised by what he’s seen,

“The Damerons are both fucking Rey. I think I need my brain removed. Or my eyes.”

And Chewie, who watched Rey grow up, same way he watched Kylo grow up, bellows an outraged shout and starts striding down the corridor. His large hulking form is menacing, and Kylo kind of wants to follow him and see the look on Finn and Poes face when the angry man kicks down the door.

The sound of his fathers voice, calling ‘ _Chewie what’s wrong_?’, stops him. So, a corridor away, he listens to it all unfold.

“They WHAT?” Han yells, and Kylo can hear Luke’s voice as well. Not the individual words, as he never mastered the art of shouting like an outraged Solo (something Kylo perfected long before he left home), but the tone sounded shocked enough that Kylo grinned, leaning against the wall.

A few seconds of silence, followed by an almighty _bang_ , and then shouting. Lots of shouting. He couldn’t make out any words over the general commotion, but he’s sure he’ll see the memory in the drift, later, and then Kylo can’t help it, he’s laughing. Loudly. Loud enough that he knows they hear him in the next corridor, because the shouting stops. Then,

“ _BEN_!” Reys furious shout is the sign for Kylo to get the hell out of there. He doesn’t even put up a protest about how his name is Kylo, too busy getting away from the scene before his cousin can re-enact their latest kill, with him at the kaiju. 

 

 

The minutes before Marshall Calrissian arrives are, honestly, the most awkward minutes of Hux’s life. For once he has no idea what’s happened between the rest of the Rangers, and Phasma is just as out of the loop as he is. Spend one afternoon working on your jaeger and suddenly the room’s divided.

Rey Skywalker is glaring at her father, and at Han Solo and Chewbacca, all three of whom are glaring at Finn and Poe Dameron, who are shamelessly hiding behind the shorter, younger girl. Leia Organa looks extremely fed up. Ren looks positively delighted, even though everyone else is glaring at him periodically. 

The Marshall finally arrives in the room, two harried looking scientists trailing behind him. It doesn’t break the tension thrumming through the room. Calrissian looks around, assessing the situation, before he turns to the k-scientists.

“I’m going to need a minute or two to sort this out. How long can we spare?” Snap shrugs, before looking at Jess.

“Five minutes. Seven if you can stop him from babbling during his explanation.” She jerks her head at her colleague, who rolls his eyes. The Marshall nods, turning back to the larger group.

“Right. We can’t afford any distractions, so you’ve got the next five minutes to sort this out. Who wants to talk first?” There’s not even a moments silence before Rey Skywalker starts talking.

“I can fuck who I want!” She declares, and Hux blinks, confused, because of course she can. Even if she’s fucking Ren, which Hux certainly doesn’t care about. Something feels wrong about that assumption, though, the configuration of the room wrong. Hux looks again, closer, and the looks at Phasma to see if she’s getting the same impression he is. She looks delighted, so Hux is pretty sure she’s caught it as well, that Hux isn’t seeing what he wants to see. Not that he wants Ren not to be fucking someone else; as Hux has said and thought and shouted too much recently, Ren can do whatever and whoever the fuck he wants.

“More Skywalker drama. Jesus.” Calrissian mumbles, rubbing a frustrated hand across his face. Hux suddenly remembers that he’s been friends with Solo for years, and likely friends with Skywalker and Organa (who’s technically a Skywalker) for nearly as long. Rumour has it that all four were complete trouble makers, back in the day.

“Yes, Rey, you can. Does anyone have a problem with this?” No one says anything, and Ren’s fucking grinning now. Hux wants to punch the smile off his face.

“Great. What do you have a problem with?” There’s a moments silence. They’re all clearly trying to find the right words. It’s hard. No one in their right minds could find a bad thing to say about either Dameron, but Solo was clearly trying.

“The age gap.” Ren pipes up, helpfully, heedless of Reys intensifying glare. Han Solo brightens up, while Luke Skywalker sighs, shaking his head.

“Yeah, the-” Solo’s cut off by the elder Skywalker.

“No. We may have… over reacted. Due to shock. We’re happy for you, for all three of you, as long as you’re happy.” He smiles at his daughter, who smiles back. It’s a wonderful moment of family bonding, blah blah, et cetera, et cetera. Hux wishes they could get to the point of the meeting because, now that the main drama has been apparently wrapped up, Ren’s started sneaking glances at Hux again.

“We’re sorry you had to find out like that.” Poe says, and Chewbacca grumbles, says something in a language Hux has never been able to learn, and seems generally appeased.

“Welcome to the family, I guess.” Solo mutters, begrudging, but even he’s smiling a little.

“Great. All wrapped up, a few minutes to spare, even.” Calrissian says, clapping his hands together.

“Wait!” Rey says, and the Marshall sighs, but he doesn’t look surprised.

“I have a question.” And then she turns to look straight at Hux.

“Why’d you break up with, uh, Kylo? Did you stop loving him?” That was the last thing he expected out of her mouth. He doesn’t get to say anything, barely gets the chance to think, before both Ren and Solo are speaking at the same time.

“Rey! Fucking -”

“What!? _Hux_ and -”

“Quiet!” Leia Organas powerful voice echos through the room, and both men fall silent instantly.

“Hux, answer the question.” Her voice is hard, and Hux musters every inch of his strict control in order to lie straight to her face.

“I never loved him.” Phasma coughs something that might be the word ‘liar’ into her hand, but Hux ignores her. He’s too busy looking at Rens face. He looks completely destroyed, as though Hux has shot one of _Star Killers_ rounds into his chest.

“Oh.” It’s quiet, the sound that Ren makes, but clearly audible in the dead silence of the room. It hurts to hear, even though Hux has told himself repeatedly that he doesn’t care one whit for Kylo Ren. _How_ it’s possible that he still cares for the man after everything, after Ren cut his heart out, Hux doesn’t know.

“Alright.” Ren says, voice unaffected, like he doesn’t care one way or the other, like every single person present hadn’t just watched his heart break. Hux can’t help it. He snaps.

“Alright!? It’s not alright, you fool!” He shouts, turning to face Ren fully, something he hasn’t done for what feels like far too long.

“What else do you want me to say, Hux? What else can I say? Tell me. Tell me how to fix this and I will!” Ren shouts back, all pretense of calm acceptance gone, one hand sweeping through his thick hair in agitation while the other gestures so wildly he almost smacks Snap in the face. Both scientist wisely shuffle entirely out of reach.

“I want you to say you’re sorry!” Hux shouts back, hating the way his voice cracks towards the end of the sentence, the way he can feel his emotions spiralling out of control. Ren has always completely obliterated his self control. It made for mind-blowing sex, but ferocious arguments. Which used to lead to sex, and now just lead to violence.

“I’m sorry!” Ren practically bellows, like if he says loud enough Hux will believe him.

“If you were actually sorry you would have said so before this!”

“I don’t even know what I did wrong!” At that, Hux can’t help his outraged laugh, fighting back the urge to punch the other man, again. He’s fully aware of their gobsmacked audience, however, so he refrains.

“You… you…” Hux can barely form words he’s so angry. It’s surprising that he’s not foaming at the mouth. As is usual for them, they’ve moved closer and closer together, completely unintentionally. It’s like a gravitational pull; whenever he pays the slightest bit of attention to Ren he has to get closer. He still has the same effect on Ren, and before either of them really knows it, they’ve met each other halfway, in the middle of the room.

“I- I- I- what?” Ren mocks, and Hux only barely restrains himself from grabbing the front of Rens jacket and throwing him into the wall.

“You _slut_!” It’s a terrible insult, one he actively despises, and yet the words still erupt from his mouth in an attempt to hurt Ren the way the slightly taller man is still hurting him.

“I’ve only ever fucked you!”

“Then who the hell is Ben?” Hux shouts, close enough to Ren that they’re practically breathing the same air. It’s the closest they’ve been in months, and Hux wants to kick himself for being even the slightest bit distracted by how attractive Ren is.

“What?” Ren looks shocked, all anger leaving his face in a rush. Hux should feel triumphant, but he only feels hollow. The Ranger shifts slightly, attempting to move away from Ren because he can’t be this close to him, not when he’s still so heartsick, but Ren grabs his arm before he can, dragging him even closer.

“No, Hux, tell me. What do you mean?” He sounds urgent, like he can fix everything between them, like there’s hope. Hux doesn’t want to say a word, but he’s always been soft for Kylo Ren, so he tries.

“You said his name, when we… I thought we… and then you called out Ben.” Not especially coherent, but it’s the best he can do when his eyes are burning. Ren understands, though - he’s always understood Hux. A grin splits his face, and he laughs. He looks beautiful; Hux hates it. Hates him.

“Hux, I’m Ben.”

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.” Hux can hear his voice break as any hope he had that Ren could, actually, fix things between them is shattered irreparably. What a deplorable lie. Ren tugs him into a hug, still grinning, but Hux refuses to be hugged.

“My real name is Ben Solo.” What.

“I probably should have chosen a better time to tell you.”

“I don’t believe you.” Ren laughs again, and pushes Hux’s shoulders until he’s facing the assembled crowd.

“That’s my mother, Leia Organa, my father, Han Solo. Uncle Chewie, Uncle Luke and my cousin Rey.” Each of them wave, as though the ridiculous story is true, and Hux shakes his head.

“I changed my name when I entered the the academy, because I didn’t want anyone to judge me based on my parents. And because I essentially ran away from home and decided I didn’t have any family after an arguement with my dad.” The last part sounds just stupid enough for Ren to have actually done it.

“It’s true. You ever want to see what Ben looked like as a lanky, big eared teenager, we’ve got photos.” Han grins, digging out his wallet. He pulls out a photo for Hux to look at. It’s clearly a much younger Han Solo with his arm wrapped around a teenager who is unmistakably Kylo Ren. Hux might be in shock.

“You… keep a picture of me in your wallet?” Ren asks, looking at Han Solo like he’s never seen him before.

“Course. You’re my son.” Solo replies, voice no where near his usual nonchalance. There’s silence as they stare at each other. If what they’re saying is true, this is a monumental moment for Ren. Hux is well acquainted with his daddy issues, hell with his family issues.

“Oh.” Is all Ren says, and the silence stretches on long enough that Hux knows that the conversation is finished.

“You joined the academy when you were seventeen.” Hux says, turning back towards Kylo, who’s hesitantly wrapping his arms back around Hux.

“Yeah.”

“Honestly, the fact that you were stubborn enough to hold a grudge for twelve years is the most realistic thing about this.” Rey explodes with loud, boisterous laughter, before she quickly muffles it.

“I’m sorry.” Kylo - Ben? - says, completely sincerely, and Hux slowly slides his own hands around Kylos waist. 

“That you ever thought I had eyes for anyone but you.”

“I do love you.” Hux whispers, before Kylo kisses him. And it’s honestly perfect, until-

“Kinda on a deadline, triple event imminent, category five, ringing any bells?” Jess interrupts, which is a valid point. It doesn’t stop Hux from wanting to kill her for interrupting, but it’s a valid point.

“Please, enlighten us.” Hux says, still wrapped in Kylos arms, and the two scientists explain the situation, and their plan to end it all. Finally. Hux knows a desperate last stand when he sees one, and if this doesn’t work, they’re all dead. Then again, he and Phasma hadn’t really expected anything else when they’d agreed to come to the Hosnian shatterdome.

 

 

“Jess did _what_?” Finn and Poe speak over the comms at the same time, saying what everyone else is thinking. They’re battling towards the breach, slowly but surely making ground - but there’s a cat 5, Plagueis, lurking somewhere, waiting for the slightest sign of weakness, Kylo’s sure.

“She drifted with a kaiju.” Calrissian repeats, quickly continuing.

“You can’t just throw the bomb in. The breach has a lock, kind of, and the kaiju are the keys.” Fuck.

“How the fuck are we going to put a kaiju and the nuke through the breach?” Han says, and Rey has the thought the same time Kylo does. They’re carrying the nuke, part of the reason why _Vader_ was so important to the mission. He doesn’t need to look at her to know they’re in agreement, the knowledge flowing through the drift, but Kylo looks anyway, and Rey looks back. They nod, as one.

“We have an idea.” Rey says.

“Hopefully we’re right. Keep the cat 4’s off our back.” Kylo continues. The other four teams voice their assent, and then keep talking, each asking about the plan. Neither of them answer.

 _Vader_ struggles through the enormous water pressure towards the breach, listening to the sounds of their friends, family and lovers fighting. They’re almost at the edge, Plagueis lurking close enough to the breach that there’s no way the sensors can get a lock on it, when Rey speaks into the comm.

“I love you.” There’s no question as to who she’s speaking to, and both men reply automatically, even as they attempt to cut through the cat 4 Grievous with the help of _Millennium Falcon_. It’s a slippery bastard, but they’re managing slowly. It’s legs are ripping into both jaegers, though, and inflicting a lot of damage. They’ll need to kill it soon.

“I’m sorry I didn’t speak to you for twelve years. You are my family. I’m sorry.” The list of things Kylo would rather do than apologise to his family used to be about a mile long. Now it seems like the most important thing in the world. Plagueis appears out of what seems like no where, slamming into _Vaders_ side with a terrible blow. It winds them, slightly, and Kylo doesn’t get a chance to say anything to Hux. At least they already said everything they needed to say, in the hours between their reconciliation and now.

Kylo wraps his arm around as much of Plagueis as he can, while Rey guts it with her saber. Together they hold tight and, using the kaijus momentum, pivot. It’s hard, with the crushing weight of the ocean on all sides, but they manage. The kaiju’s still moving forward, moving both of them forward, but now they’re headed straight for the breach, instead of away.

They arm the nuke once they fall over the edge, the combined weight of jaeger and kaiju sending them right into the breach.

There’s so much noise through the comm, voices overlapping, but Kylo can’t concentrate on any of it, too busy keeping the kaiju pinned. It’s been ripping and tearing and shredding their lower body. Kylo can’t feel their legs anymore, isn’t sure they’re still attached, but it doesn’t matter.

The comm goes silent; they’re through the breach.

 

 

They won. The breach is closed.

All Hux feels is numb. He’s not the only one. All the pilots are, he’s sure. There’s so much noise coming through their connection to the shatterdome, the sound of celebration. Phasma flicks it off. They leave the connection to the other jaegers open, but there’s nothing but silence.

They’re all still at the bottom of the Pacific, next to a closed breach.

“Status report.” Leia Organa asks, voice unlike Hux has ever heard. She sounds… the way Hux feels, to be honest. After a beat of silence, Phasma responds.

“Left arm, moderate damage. Chest, moderate damage. Right leg, minimal damage. Explosion knocked out some of our sensors. Overall, minimal damage. Still highly functional.”

“We’ve lost…” Poe starts, trails off. His husband picks up the sentence after a moment.

“Our legs. Gone. Right arm torn off at the elbow.”

“Han? Chewie?” Leia prompts after continued silence.

“We can limp out of here, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Both our arms are gone, and our left leg from the knee down, as well.” _R2-D2_ had lost both of their arms protecting _Star Killers_ conn pod from getting torn out. While Sidious’ mouth and claws had been busy ripping off said appendages, Hux had unloaded their plasma rounds right into that bastard's chest. Killed it, just in time to witness _Vader_ wrestle the cat 5 through the breach.

“We can carry _BB-8_.” Hux says, after the silence has stretched on for too long, again. 

“We’ll support _R2_.” Han Solo volunteers. Eventually they’re all in position. _R2_ leaning on the _Falcon_ , _BB-8_ held in _Star Killers_ arms.

“Anyone got a line open to the surface?” Finn asks, as they start moving away from the breach, in formation.

“No.” Luke replies, voice harder and more resigned than Hux has ever heard.

“Good.” Poe replies, and Hux agrees. He understands, of course. The world is saved, life will go on. And they will celebrate, of course they will. Eventually. Now, surrounded by the silent, surreal world at the bottom of the ocean, is not the time for celebration. It’s for mourning, for the tears slowly sliding down Hux and Phasmas faces, not jubilation.

It’s a long, quiet walk until they reach the arranged pick up point.

 

They have to leave their jaegers in the ocean, eject their escape pods and get picked up by choppers. It feels like a betrayal, to leave them, but they do anyway.

 

Marshall Calrissian is waiting on the helipad when they return, huge grin on his face.

“Follow me.” Nobody particularly wants to, but they do anyway. The base is celebrating all around them, but the eight Rangers are grim. They arrive at the medbay, and there’s an outcry from the pilots.

“No offence Lando, but you can shove-”

“Shut up, Han. You all turned off your comms before we found out.”

“Found out what?” Leia asks, and her old friend laughs, opening the doors to the medbay. He walks in, and no one follows. They’re not really in the mood for a check up, however necessary. All eight of them would prefer to find a quiet place and ignore the world for a little while.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. No more Skywalkers in my ward. These two are worse than all the others combined.” The aggravated voice of the base doctor says, politely but firmly. There’s laughter in response, and Hux has the intensely odd feeling of his heart stopping and starting at the same time.

Somehow Kylo Ren’s laughter is echoing through medbay, as is Rey Skywalkers. No one moves.

“I’ve told you before, Doc Tano, it’s Ren now. And even before that it wasn’t Skywalker.” Somehow Hux beats seven other people through the medbay doors.

“Great. Now they’re all here. Thanks, Lando.” Ahsoka says, the old woman throwing their hands up in the air.

“Hey!” Rey chirps. They’re both more bacta than skin, lying in shallow tubs of the stuff. As one, the eight pilots move forward, but they’re stopped by the frustrated medic.

“No! Not only are they on so many drugs that I’m surprised they’re still conscious, but if a single one of you thinks about touching them, _you’re_ going to need a soak in a bacta tank.” With that warning, she moves to the side, allowing the group to cautiously move forward.

The group splits. The eldest four move into the space between the tanks, so they they can be equally close to their children or niblings. Finn and Poe go to the other side of Reys tank, while Hux and Phasma fill the space left at Kylos side.

Hux carefully places a hand on Kylos hair, grateful that Ahsoka put them in the shallow tanks, reminiscent of baths, more than the usual bacta tanks. This way he can see Kylo smile up at him.

“I almost died.” He grins, and Hux huff what could be a laugh, or maybe a sob. He’s keeping himself together better than Finn and Poe, who are attempting to see just how close they can get to Rey without disturbing the bacta, tears and laughter flowing freely.

“I should get a kiss. For surviving.” Hux couldn’t agree more.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, all the Kaiju are named after the other Darths. Sidious, Grevious, Plagueis, Maul, Bane, etc. :D
> 
> Also [come screech about things with me.](http://valiantbarnes.tumblr.com)


End file.
